The Odds of Denzel Washington Joining Season 2 of Empire Just Got a Lot More Likely

Fox’s hip-hop soap opera is an enormous hit, no matter how you look at it. It’s popular, it’s critically acclaimed, and its profile just continues to rise. With an unprecedented ratings climb in its seventh week on-air, Empire has become a seemingly unstoppable force. But what does that measure of astronomical success mean for Season 2? It could very well mean a huge star is coming to Fox.

Deadline reports that last night’s episode of Empire was watched by 13.8 million viewers, making it the night’s most-watched show by a long shot. For perspective, the other big scripted Wednesday-night show, Modern Family, only pulled in 9.3 million.

Empire’s massive ratings aren’t exactly news. Vanity Fair reported on the show’s splashy first weeks back in January. The continued, steep climb, however, is worth talking about, especially in the context of the star power Empire can now expect to attract. It’s not as if Empire has been lacking in star quality. With a high-profile co-creator like Lee Daniels (Precious, The Butler), Empire already snagged two Oscar-nominated actors ––Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard ––for the lead roles. And yesterday, Entertainment Weekly released new on-set images of Rita Ora and Jennifer Hudson, who will be guest-starring in upcoming episodes. But at the bottom of that article was this quote from Daniels about the likelihood of Denzel Washington appearing in Season 2:

It’s about his schedule. I’ve got to lure him in with my fishhook, but
he is really a great support of the show and Lenny Kravitz is going to
be on the show, hopefully. We’re going to make sure we try and create
a storyline for him.

Once again, this isn’t exactly news. Daniels posted this photo with Washington back in January.

But what all seemed a little far-fetched (Denzel? On a Fox show?) is starting to seem much more realistic as the Empire ratings bullet train keeps climbing uphill. We all know movie stars are increasingly drawn to television (Hello, Matthew McConaughey!), but Daniels himself explained the blurred line between TV and film worlds best when he told Vanity Fair:

No one could have told me that a television show airing one night
could reach more people than all my movies combined. I had no idea
because, to be honest, I’ve always been that ‘film guy’ who looked
down on television. Not anymore.